The strain of gamma proteobacteria known as GFAJ-1 has a dual capability. It can grow with either phosphorous or arsenic. The arsenic path is a sub-optimal substitute to phosphorous biochemistry and will most probably be de- selected by natural selection to nothingness. The ultimate question is what will be the CAUSE to such an ET creature?

The world awoke this Christmas morning to the dramatic news that the answer to one of the great questions of all time had been found - we are not alone in the universe!
But the discovery of life on a distant planet with the unprepossessing name of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb is hardly the stuff of science fiction. Far from green-skinned, one-eyed, tentacled monsters, the life discovered by a joint ...